Vortiago/mcp-outline

> ## 📢 Official Outline MCP Server Available
>
> Outline now ships an **official MCP server** — we recommend using it.
> Read the docs.
---
A Model Context Protocol server for interacting with Outline document management.
Features
- **Document operations**: Search, read, create, edit, archive documents
- **Collections**: List, create, manage document hierarchies
- **Comments**: Add and view threaded comments
- **Backlinks**: Find documents referencing a specific document
- **MCP Resources**: Direct content access via URIs (outline://document/{id}, outline://collection/{id}, etc.)
- **Automatic rate limiting**: Transparent handling of API limits with retry logic
Prerequisites
Before using this MCP server, you need:
- An Outline account (cloud hosted or self-hosted)
- API key from Outline web UI: **Settings → API Keys → Create New**
- Python 3.10+ (for non-Docker installations)
> **Getting your API key**: Log into Outline → Click your profile → Settings → API Keys → "New API Key". Copy the generated token.
Quick Start
One-Click Install
Click a button to install with interactive API key prompt:
%22%2C%22password%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&config=%7B%22command%22%3A%22uvx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22mcp-outline%22%5D%2C%22env%22%3A%7B%22OUTLINE_API_KEY%22%3A%22%24%7Binput%3Aoutline_api_key%7D%22%2C%22OUTLINE_API_URL%22%3A%22%24%7Binput%3Aoutline_api_url%7D%22%7D%7D)
%22%2C%22password%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&config=%7B%22command%22%3A%22uvx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22mcp-outline%22%5D%2C%22env%22%3A%7B%22OUTLINE_API_KEY%22%3A%22%24%7Binput%3Aoutline_api_key%7D%22%2C%22OUTLINE_API_URL%22%3A%22%24%7Binput%3Aoutline_api_url%7D%22%7D%7D&quality=insiders)
Manual Install
Install with uv (recommended), pip, or Docker:
Then add to your MCP client config (works with VS Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and others):
Claude Code
Installing the repo as a plugin instead also bundles the
outline-explorer agent (fast read-only wiki exploration) and the
outline skill (Outline conventions: mermaidjs fences, document
structure, editing workflows).
Claude Desktop
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
Setup guides for more clients: Docker (HTTP), Cline, Codex, Windsurf, and others
Configuration
| Variable | Required | Default | Notes |
|----------|----------|---------|-------|
| OUTLINE_API_KEY | Yes* | - | Required for tool calls to succeed. For SSE/HTTP, can alternatively be provided per-request via x-outline-api-key header (details) |
| OUTLINE_API_URL | No | https://app.getoutline.com/api | For self-hosted: https://your-domain/api |
| OUTLINE_VERIFY_SSL | No | true | Set false for self-signed certificates |
| OUTLINE_READ_ONLY | No | false | true = disable ALL write operations (details) |
| OUTLINE_DISABLE_DELETE | No | false | true = disable only delete operations (details) |
| OUTLINE_DISABLE_AI_TOOLS | No | false | true = disable AI tools (for Outline instances without OpenAI) |
| OUTLINE_DISABLE_RECENT_DOCUMENTS | No | false | true = disable the list_recently_updated_documents tool |
| OUTLINE_DYNAMIC_TOOL_LIST | No | false | true = enable per-user tool filtering by role/key scopes (details) |
| OUTLINE_MAX_CONNECTIONS | No | 100 | Max concurrent connections in pool |
| OUTLINE_MAX_KEEPALIVE | No | 20 | Max idle connections in pool |
| OUTLINE_TIMEOUT | No | 30.0 | Read timeout in seconds |
| OUTLINE_CONNECT_TIMEOUT | No | 5.0 | Connection timeout in seconds |
| OUTLINE_WRITE_TIMEOUT | No | 30.0 | Write timeout in seconds |
| OUTLINE_CACHE_TTL | No | 30 | Document cache TTL in seconds. The short default absorbs same-task read bursts without stressing the Outline API; set 0 to disable caching (always-fresh reads) or higher (e.g. 300) for more API savings. Staged edits work either way |